ROUNDUP: Norsemen, Sultans, Patriots, Knights win on Wed.

By Bill Dickens
Updated: November 30, 2016

Valhalla goes up with a shot against Montgomery Tuesday night.

2016-17 EAST COUNTY PREP BOYS BASKETBALL

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com

EL CAJON (11-30-16) – Clutch free throw shooting by Valhalla down the stretch gave the Norsemen a 63-62 season opening win over visiting Montgomery in the Baron Matador Classic on Tuesday (Nov. 29) in El Cajon.

Valhalla sophomore wing EVAN O’NEAL hit a 3 at the buzzer to give the Norsemen a 7-point lead at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, the Norsemen opened up the lead to double digits exploiting the press of the Aztecs.

Valhalla senior guard KAI KOMAKI did an exceptional job handling the Aztecs’ full court zone trap defense.

Both teams were in foul trouble, but the Valhalla depth showed in the second half

SANTANA 62, HIGH TECH-NC 25 – The Santana Sultans streaked to a 25-7 first quarter lead and never looked back as they riddled the Raptors in Tuesday’s (Nov. 29) Greater San Diego Shootout.

NICK BERHALTER whistled in 23 points to pace Santana.

The Sultans showed excellent balance as seven players scored.

ANDREW HITCHCOCK chipped in 9 points as did BRANDON SIMMONS. TC SIMMONS added 8 points, 6 rebounds, 7 steals and 4 assists.

JOHN BOBOF netted 7 points, collected 4 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists.

Santana: Nick Berhalter 23 (5 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Andrew Hitchcock 9 (2 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk), Brandon Simmons 9 (3 reb), TC Simmons 8 (6 reb, 4 ast, 7 stl), John Bobof 7 (4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl), Zach Leggitt 4 (4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk), Simone Maritano 2 (5 ast, 5 stl).

CHRISTIAN 98, THE ROCK 19 – NASHOM CARTER scored 24 points and JACKSON LARSEN got 23 as Christian rolled The Rock in a lop-sided Greater San Diego Shootout encounter Tuesday (Nov. 29) at the Ryan Athletic Center.

The Patriots pounded out a 37-5 first quarter lead and led 61-14 at halftime.

On the defensive end, Christian muzzled the Warriors 21-0 in the 3^rd quarter.

The Patriots punched in 7 three-pointers and 8-for-10 free throws.

Safarta dished 8 assists and hawked 10 steals while going 8 for 13 from the field. Larsen had 11 rebounds and Roberts had 10 rebounds.

Christian: Nashom Carter 24 (4 reb, 5 ast, 8 stl), Jackson Larsen 23 (11 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk), Domanic Safarta 18 (5 reb, 8 ast, 10 stl), Donte Bristol 11 (3 stl), Patrick Roberts 10 (10 reb, 1 blk), Jack Mason 4 (6 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Daniel Welch 5 (5 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk).

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN 84, RANCHO CHRISTIAN 61 – 2017 UCLA signee JAYLEN HANDS, of the Knights, had 26 points, seven assists and six steals in a second-straight win to open the season at the BattleZone Tournament at Centennial High in Corona Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 29). In the first two games Hands has scored 67 points.

Senior JORDAN VAN OMMERING had 20 points for FCHS, while sophomore JAREN NAFARRETE hit three three-pointers, good for nine points on the night.

Senior KALE BALDADO had 12 points for Foothills, scoring in every quarter, while freshman KALEB LOWERY had nine points, and junior T.J. LOWERY added six for the Knights.

Isaiah Mobley, son of former Helix basketball star ERIC MOBLEY, led Rancho Christian with 27 points and 18 rebounds.

The Knights started a bit slow, but had worked up to a 38-32 edge at halftime, as Hands had 13 points and four assists over the first two periods.

Foothills Christian then opened on an 11-2 run to start the third and led 63-43 at the end of three, as Hands continued to lead FCHS with 19 points. With 4:10 left, the Knights led 67-51.

BISHOP’S 56, GROSSMONT 47 – The Foothillers kept the pressure on The Bishop School Knights, trailing by only 2 points with 2 minutes to play in Tuesday’s (Nov. 29) Game on Challenge.

Grossmont let the Bishop’s pull away on some ill-advised shots that did not connect in the final seconds.

“Then we had to foul and Bishop’s capitalized on our miscues,” said Foothillers coach FRANK FOGGIANO.

Grossmont was only 7 for 12 from the line and that proved to be the difference.

DOMONIQUE GUEVARA, fresh off the football field, knocked down a team best 16 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and hawked 3 steals for the Foothillers.

Quarterback HUNTER GAINES logged 4 three-pointers for 12 points.

Grossmont will play Vincent Memorial on Wednesday (Nov. 30) at Monte Vista at 7 p.m. The Foothillers will play the next five games on the Monarchs’ floor due to a gym flooding incident at Grossmont.

Grossmont: Domonique Guevara 16 (8 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl), Hunter Gaines 12 (3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Hunter Mulder 5 (4 reb, 1 stl), Desain Crawford 4 (1 ast, 1 stl), Austin Odom 3 (2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl), Branik Brown 2 (2 reb), Morgan Stidum 2 (1 ast), Jamie Odom (1 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl), Mykol Rodriguez (1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl).

TORREY PINES 80, WEST HILLS 40 – Trailing by 16 entering the final period, West Hills fell apart as gigantic Torrey Pines, led by 6-foot-9 Jacob Gilliam, used a 27-3 fourth quarter run to turn the Horsman-Wolf Pack Tournament game into a blowout Tuesday (Nov. 29).

The Falcons nailed 5 three-pointers in the fourth quarter alone, and 11 for the game.

CAMERON BARRY scored 16 of his team-best 18 in the first half. He also had 4 rebounds and 3 steals.

NATHAN BALL chipped in with 10 points in the setback.

West Hills will play three of the top five teams in the Top 10 during the tournament. Then on Friday (Dec. 2) they will play Del Norte at 8 p.m. On Saturday (Dec. 3) the Wolf Pack will play Vista at 3 p.m., and will play Mater Dei Tuesday (Dec. 6) at 3:30 p.m.

West Hills: Cameron Barry 18 (4 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, Nathan Ball 10 (3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk), Brandon Peterson 9 (1 ast, 1 stl), Chris Moyer 3 (5 reb), Michael Totah (1 ast), Jovan Bea (1 ast), Chris Schroeder (1 stl), Scott Bettoney (1 reb).

POWAY 89, EL CAPITAN 26 – The Titans came down 67 and put a pasting on the host Vaqueros in the season opener at the Eagle Invitational.